Titans will host old nemesis Ravens in playoffs

Keith Bulluck knows all about the Titans' battles with the Ravens. File

The Tennessee Titans hope that Saturday isn’t Turn Back the Clock Day at LP Field.

That’s the because the Baltimore Ravens are coming to town and looking amazingly the same team that stifled a top-seeded Titans team back in 2000.

Baltimore stormed past the Miami Dolphins 27-9 Sunday in the AFC Wild-Card Playoffs to earn a date with the Titans this Saturday in the divisional round.

Eight years ago, the Titans were in the exact same spot as they were this season _ holding the top seed in the playoffs with a surging Ravens team coming to Nashville. That cold January day, Baltimore stunned the Titans 24-10 on its way to Tampa and winning Super Bowl XXXV.

Just like those Ravens from eight years ago, the current edition still has linebacker Ray Lewis as the heart and soul of the defense.

And just like those Ravens, the 2008 squad is built around a bullying defense that controls the line of scrimmage and gets big plays in the secondary by the likes of safety Ed Reed, who had two interceptions, including one for a touchdown Sunday. In all, Baltimore forced five turnovers in the convincing victory over the Dolphins.

And just like that 2000 Baltimore team, these Ravens don’t have a lot in the way of offense, but seem to have just enough of a knack for big plays to get the job done.

And just like in 2000, the Super Bowl this year will be played in Tampa, where the Ravens wound up knocking out the New York Giants that day, who coincidentally, were quarterbacked by current Titans starter Kerry Collins.

In that game early in the 2001 calendar year, the lasting impressions that remain are Lewis stealing a pass from Eddie George and returning it for a touchdown and the kicking woes of normally reliable Al Del Greco who had a field goal blocked and returned for a score.

During those days, the Titans and Ravens were in the same division, the now-defunct AFC Central, and there were many memorable games between them besides the playoff disappointment the Titans endured.

But when realignment came in 2002, the teams went their separate ways. But even in not seeing each other every year, the rivalry has remained somewhat intact.

The Titans traveled to Baltimore in the 2003 playoffs and exacted a measure of revenge for what happened in 2000 by winning there in the wild-card round on a Gary Anderson field goal, 20-17. In that game, George, playing with a dislocated shoulder, paid Lewis back for three years earlier by running over him on the way to gaining 88 yards.

The rivalry’s flames were fanned by the fact that former Titans stars Derrick Mason and Samari Rolle were released by the Titans after the 2004 season in a salary cap purge and have been fixtures with the Ravens ever since.

Quarterback Steve McNair followed suit to Baltimore a year later after a salary cap issue, lockout and grievance hearing that eventually led to him being traded to the Ravens that summer.

Certainly, only a handful of players are still around from the day the Titans had a golden opportunity to win a championship taken away by the Ravens. Punter Craig Hentrich was there. So was defensive end Jevon Kearse, and linebacker Keith Bulluck was a special teams player as a rookie.

Rolle and Mason are, of course, still around albeit on the Ravens’ side of the rivalry now, and Lewis is still there as the inspirational leader of a rebuilt defense still designed to harass opposing offenses in major mistakes.

The Titans went to Baltimore in October and rallied in the fourth quarter to take a 13-10 victory over the Ravens in a typical street fight style game this series has become known for over the years. Collins hit tight end Alge Crumpler with the winning score late in the game.

As the playoff game approaches, surely little if anything will matter from the matchup eight years ago or the one from five years ago either.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher even alluded to the days of old in his initial statement after finding out the Ravens would be Tennessee’s first playoff opponent.

“Now that we know our opponent, we have a tremendous challenge ahead of us,” Fisher said. “Baltimore has improved in all areas since we saw them earlier this season. They are built around a strong run game and a great defense, which reminds us of the classic matchups against them in the past.”

But as both teams have rebuilt in recent years, most of the names and faces have changed. But when it comes to intensity a Ravens-Titans playoff game seems to be a natural postseason fit.

MAWAE QUESTIONABLE: Fisher said during an interview with the CBS studio analysts at halftime of the Baltimore-Miami game that center Kevin Mawae would be day to day this week and might not play against the Ravens. Mawae suffered an elbow injury in the fourth quarter of the Titans win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 21.

He added that he expects defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) and Albert Haynesworth (knee) to practice this week and play on Saturday.

FISHER THIRD: Fisher finished third in the voting for the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award, behind recipient Mike Smith of Atlanta and runner-up Tony Sparano of Miami.

Fisher received three of the 50 votes for the award.